Silhuettes
by Vwolf Youjutsu
Summary: 1R, 4D, 3H, 5S, 2? While at the circus, things take a turn for the worst for the pilots and their families as their children are kidnapped by a newold enemy, and dead aquaintencies rise from the ashes. ignore inside title R
1. Chapter 1

**Heart Beat**

**By Vwolf**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing**

**(It's being rewritten – so sue me)**

**-**

The Silent Clown looked out at the cheering crowd from a slited opening in the tarp walls of the large circus tent, waiting for the announcement of his final act. Looking closely at the hoards of numerous, smiling, happy people, he could spot members of his extended family. Some he hadn't seen for a while... others he probably saw the other day.

Heero and Relena were near the front, 10 year old Christian sitting in the middle of the two. A regular talkative bundle of energy, just like any other happy child. Chris looked almost exactly like his father, right down to the icy glare. His hair was light, however, darker than Relena's, yet lighter than Heero's; and his eyes almost the same exact shade of his mothers. Trowa remembered a time when the child had pranked his father (with the help of his friend Huan Lang and a few super soakers). Yuy never knew what hit him until it was to late. It was something the clown figured that Maxwell, if he were still around, would never let his best friend and brother live down. Relena had told him afterwards that Heero mentioned something about Chris, the braided wonder, and if the boy was really his.

Lifting his eyes to a spot not far from the Yuy's, the Silent Clown could spot his best friend and wife, and hoard of numerous little minions (something the couple often joked about). Seven children with varying shades of blond hair and blue eyes, yet only two of them showed any sign of being emphatic like their father. Trowa thanked whatever god was listening that he wasn't Quatre or Dorothy every night before he slipped into bed beside his own wife. Three kids and one immediate nephew were enough for him. There was no way in hell he'd be able to remember all those names, heck, he barely remembered his own kids names at times... Hilde never let him forget it either with her infernal teasing.

Not that Hilde was there at the moment... She was at their home with their own children. A pair of five year old boys named Erich and Grant, and a three year old by the name of Lars. All beautiful in his and his wife's eyes (though, there were times when he swore they had horns and tail). None of them would be there that day. All three of them and little Abdul Winner had fallen ill with the chicken pox, and were spending the day at home while Hilde played Nurse Mom.

Down farther, a little ways from the Winners sat Wufei (or rather, Uncle Woof), Sally, and their own two children - Meilan and Huan Lang. The girl being the oldest, resembled her father more than her mother, yet, had Sally's same cornflower blue eyes. A book worm through and through she was, already excelling in her martial arts, and, Trowa suspected, had something of a crush on Quatre's oldest son Majeed - whom, Trowa ALSO suspected returned the sentiment. The other child, Huan Lang (the same age as Christian) also seemed to look more like his father than his mother, though, Huan Lang also seemed to have his mother's eyes as well. The boy seemed to have picked up on some of his fathers slightly chauvinistic tendencies (not all of them thankfully), and the need for honor. Although, everyone figured that the urge to prank must have come from Sally's side of the family.

His eyes flicked over the crowds in one last sweep before his act. It was a fruitless search, he knew, but he continued to look anyway. Not giving up on the hope that maybe the last of the pilots would show up one day, maybe with a family of his own, braid to his knees, and laughing cobalt eyes that he more than once longed to laugh with. No, Duo wouldn't be there. The clown often imagined that the ex-pilot of Deathscythe and Deathscythe Hell would show up after one late night show, asking if he still remembered him or not, just as he had long ago. But still, no matter how much he dreamed, he was never there.

Hilde received a package once... It was a birthday present, so the card said. The present had looked like a piece of junk to him. But to Hilde's more experienced mechanics eyes... it was like Christmas had come early. Quatre and Dorothy once received a pre-paid vacation from someone... Trowa had remembered because at that time, both had been looking more than unwell. He also remembered that no-one else knew of Quatre's obsession with waterfalls but his wife and the other pilots. They weren't the only ones that had received things either.

Lady Une received a big box of condoms, a bouquet of flowers, and a card saying _'I love ya sis, and care for you. So take my advice - go out, get drunk, find a nice piece of ass and-'_ at that point, Une had turned a shade of pink he had never seen on the older woman before. It suited her well.

The other pilots received a few things... Well... Wufei got pranked, and Heero got a black and gold Christmas package, and Trowa... had received a large, soft, plush lion with emerald green eyes. Relena was given a mug. It was pink, and it had many flowers on it... then, when you got past all of the girly 'shit' (as Dorothy so eloquently put it), and read the fine print near the bottom of the mug, it was really quite endearing - If you had a sense of humor that is.

Even Christian received an anonymous present... granted... it was only one present, and Heero had spent the next hour glaring at the only picture he had of one Duo Maxwell. Only HE would send the boy a package of prank things...

Of course... None of this could be related to Maxwell... Not to mention that everything was untraceable... That right there was enough to make them suspect the missing pilot. Though it wasn't proof. Just a suspicion. Or a gut feeling, if you were Trowa.

A small tug on his pants brought the clown back to the present. Looking down, he saw his nephew, Jonathon. The boy looked just like him. In fact, the boy _was _him. Cloned. Cathy had fallen in love with the silent boy at first site, and as soon as it was allowed (and with much arguing on his, Cathy's and a few others parts) she had adopted him into their small family. Trowa was glad for the boy to be with Catherine at such a young age. Hopefully, he would turn out better than what the original.

"You and Mum will be going on in a few minutes." The boy said. _'At least he smiles more...' _"Manager said so."

Trowa nodded silently. That gave him a few more minutes for another fruitless search.

-

"…And that's all for today ladies and gents, boys and girls! Thanks for coming…"

The ring masters voice could be heard from outside the tent, announcing that the show was over. Trowa made his way over to his lions. In about three minutes, hoards of young kids would be streaming out of that tent to come pet the animals and to harass their parents into buying them a souvenir or extra cotton candy for the road. If there was one thing he learned from joining the circus - it was that kids held _a lot_ of power over their parents with just puppy dog eyes and pouty faces alone.

The Silent Clown hummed to himself softly. No wonder Maxwell and Winner had gotten away with so many things whenever they ventured out of the safe houses. They seemed to have perfected the cute and/or adorable/innocent look.

A dull roar attracted his attention. He smiled a smile no one saw.

Bring on the midgets.

-


	2. Chapter 2

-

The shaggy haired man grinned impishly to himself as he waited for his cotton candy (super sized). It was a one of a kind experience. Talking to the ex-foreign vice minister's husband, Heero Yuy. The glare that man had, which, of course didn't phase him one bit. Hell, they never affected him in the first place...

Paying and thanking the vender for the cotton candy, the tall man left the stall and made his way towards the animal cages. Maneuvering his way through the large mass of bodies, his thoughts drifted back to Yuy and his family. It was good too see them in person, and not just on TV. Both Heero, now working as an inactive Preventor, and Relena, who had long since resigned from being vice foreign minister and had become a teacher instead, looked much happier than they had ever been. The man entertained the thought that getting laid regularly probably quelled most suicidal urges on the husband's part, and cured the stalking on the woman's.

Though, he mused, you could never really tell with those two... probably passed those traits onto their kids... poor little blighters... But then again, he wasn't really complaining. He passed along some of his more unwanted traits to his own kid as well. The numerous 'I'm sorry my kid beat up your kid(s)' notes he'd written since she'd started school being proof of that.

Eyes flicking back and forth unconsciously, he scanned the crowds as he moved towards the large cats tent. That's where his daughter would be, standing there quietly near the back of the probably large crowd of little kids, waiting for it to thin out, waiting for him to show up. He had to smile at that thought. The two rarely did anything with out the other being there (his Assistant Teacher jokingly called it a father-daughter complex - ha, little did the other man know...), the 'complex' being the bi-product of a few to many assaults on the two because of his former status.

Cobalt eyes caught a flash of black and metal; peering closer, it disappeared. The hairs on his arm began to tingle. Alarm bells began to ring in the back of his head, and red flags appeared on the people around him, marking them for their potential danger; analyzing and processing. He sniffed the air, legs propelling him faster. Gunpowder.

Why couldn't they go _anywhere_ with out trouble following them?

-

Christian ooo'ed and aaa'd at the lions along with all the other kids in the tent, most of them being the winner children, HL and his sister (yuck... girls!), Uncle Trowa and Jonathon...

One of the lions roared causing all the children to scream and jump. Jonathon, sitting on top of one of the cages with his best friend Amhed Winner was grinning while Amhed laughed, but Chris paid them no mind, it's not like he didn't enjoy their company, but they we're best friends, who was he to intrude? The boy looked around the tent. His mom was there in the back with Aunt Dory, laughing while the dark haired blond said something and waved a hand dramatically; Aunt Sally was laughing at a red faced Uncle Woof, while Uncles Trowa and Quatre watched on, as well. His dad would be walking through the tarp threshold any moment, carrying a big thing of cotton candy.

Chris turned his attention back to the lions, a happy grin on his face. It was nice to see everyone smiling and at one place... A lion with a large tawny mane rumbled from its place in the back of the cage. The blue eyed child grinned at it - must be lonely in there, being the only boy.

"Chris." A voice called over the laughing din. He turned and spotted his father by his mother, holding a large cotton candy.

"Tou-chan!" He threaded his way through the rest of the excited kids and glomped his dad. "Did you get it?" His father nodded and handed him the huge cotton candy.

"Woo-hoo!"

Heero watched his son munch happily on the sugary substance. Despite looking almost exactly alike (apart from the kids lighter shaded hair), their personalities were vastly different. He imagined that if he had grown up like a normal child, he might have acted like Chris... like Duo? Yes. Chris did act like Duo at times... his need to talk constantly, pranking, and hiding things behind a smile mostly. The Asian man knew about his 'brother's' mask... though it had taken his disappearance to figure it out.

Heh... With those thoughts of Duo - he now figured why that man by the concession stand was so familiar to him. With thoughts of his 'brother' floating around the top of his head, he let his gaze wander over the rest of the children in the tent. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck prickled, and a slight chill ran up his arms.

"Tou-chan..." Chris snagged hold of his pants, a frown marring his features. So Christian was feeling this to? Not surprising (he WAS his fathers son after all). The part Asian rested his hand on the boys head.

"Let me worry about It." he muttered, then turned his attention to Relena. "Relena..."

The woman looked at him. She had grown up a lot since they'd first met. She was no longer the naive teenage girl, but a mature woman who finally realized what she done when she had been named queen of the world. A woman who had grown beyond her years just like the rest of those who had fought in the war had. Physically, she had grown as tall as him - an inch taller than him as a matter of fact - as tall as Dorothy. With her sky blue eyes... Light, wheat blond hair...

She looked at him now, with those lovely eyes of hers, happy and smiling.

"Yes, Heero?"

"Time to go." he said bluntly. Then he added after seeing her confused look. "Just... trust me."

"Something wrong, Heero?" Dorothy.

"Yes. Very wrong." Heero glanced at Trowa who nodded. The others quieted to listen to their exchange. _'They probably sense what I do...'_

"He's right. You should all leave. Take the kids and go." The clown added softly. "Now."

-

"EVERYBODY OUT OF THE TENTS AND ON THE GROUND, NOW!" roared an amplified voice. "NOW!"

Machine gun shots were heard through out he complex as were the screams of people as they dived to the ground. Multiple men in black military fatigues stood over the bodies, each holding an AK-47, and wore black paint smeared over their faces.

"NOW!" the voice yelled again. From whom and what direction, no one could tell. "I WANT ALL OF YOU ON THE GROUND, FACES IN THE DIRT! HANDS ON YOUR HEAD!"

Heero allowed himself to be hauled out of the lion's tent, and shoved into the dirt, Relena and Chris beside him. Somewhere around them, he heard a litany of Chinese curses - most likely Wufei.

"What do you want?" One of the circus performers yelled out.

"OOOOOOOOOH, NOTHING MUCH REALLY, JUST YOUR EVIL SPAWN." 01 could very much imagine the grin in the amplified voice.

"Fucking hell..." someone growled from his left. "No way in hell are they taking my kid." The Asian man turned his head to see who was talking. Prussian orbs narrowed in recognition - it was him, the man from earlier that reminded him so much of Duo. Said other man had a glare on his face so lethal, Yuy was almost relieved that it wasn't turned on him. Then, it took him a second, but he noticed that the other man was also very much alone.

Sensing he was being watched, the man from earlier turned his gaze towards Heero. They locked eyes for a few moments before the other grinned and cocked his head ever so slightly; his face face a mask that he knew he had seen somewhere, someime ago. He just couldn't remember.

'_You look like a pretty smart guy...'_ the other mouthed '_So I figure you can read my lips - '_

Why did that sound familiar?

_'Do NOT do anything stupid, or you'll live to regret it.'_ The other's eyes glinted. _'Trust me'_

_-_

Author's Notes: La di da di daaa... No spell check, no grammer check, no grammer nazi's over my back - so if you spot misspellings and crap, please inform me so I can work on it. Thanks.

V.W.


End file.
